Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons were repeatedly left without access to drinking water for stretches of up to 12 hours, a practice a new report described Wednesday as collective punishment linked to Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.
The report by the public defender’s office of the Israeli Justice Ministry said that Palestinian "security prisoners” were prevented from accessing drinking water during the war, sometimes for several hours and in some cases for half a day, Haaretz newspaper said.
The findings were based on reports by public defender representatives who inspected Israeli prisons in 2024.
In January, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel filed a petition with a Jerusalem district court demanding the disclosure of the reports. The state initially refused, arguing that publication would harm national security, particularly because Israeli captives were still being held in Gaza at the time.
On Tuesday, the Justice Ministry submitted six reports to the organization, citing changed circumstances that now allowed their release, the newspaper said.
